Betrayal
by TheLastGreatStarInHollywood
Summary: What happens when Rachel's best friend, Dick, turns his back on her for his new girlfriend? Rachel's life begins falling apart, and someone new is there to pick up the pieces. RedXxRae.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys, so I was a huge TT fan when I was like twelve, and I loved to read fanfictions. Now I'm in my late teens and a recent re-run made me want to go read some fanfictions again for fun, and I was surprised by the quality of some of the stories I found. I promised myself that I would not write a story, but within a week or creating an account and reading a few stories here I am. I guess I couldn't resist.

Anyway, in this story the titans are just normal teenagers. i used the real names of all of the characters that i knew, but I couldn't remember Starfire's and I don't think Jinx actually had a real name, so I made one up. For everyone who is not familiar with the Titans' real names, I'll give you a key.

Robin: Richard "Dick" Grayson

Raven: Rachel Roth

Beast Boy: Garfield Logan

Cyborg: Victor Stone

Starfire: Stacy Carr (made up)

Jinx: Lexi Smith

Red-X: Xavier Johnson

Sorry the first chapter is kind of short. Enjoy! :)

Rachel Roth wandered through the parking lot as she made her way toward the towering brick building before her. In large black letters the words "Jump High School" were sprawled above the school's main entrance. The petite girl struggled under the weight of her large, black L.L. Bean backpack. Apparently being a good student comes with the prince of looking like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Everyday that Rachel struggled to her car she cursed her decision to take up four AP classes for her Junior year.

As she passed through the glass doorway into the school's lobby, Rachel couldn't keep her expression from darkening as she examined her daily prison and her fellow students. Rachel certainly was no fashion queen, but she made an effort to not wander around in sweatpants and sandals with socks. Everyday she was amazed by what people actually though was acceptable to wear in public. Rachel was pretty proud of her personal style. It was soft and simple and made completely of her favorite dark colors. Today, she wore a black jersey dress that flowed from it's empire waist and ended mid-thigh. The dress had cap sleeves, but Rachel decided to add a light grey cardigan to protect her arms from the ever-changing fall weather. The outfit was simple all the way down to her plain black flats. Rachel loved her black ballet flats more than any of her other shoes. But she had to admit that her black, scrunched sued boots came in at a pretty close second.

Rachel was almost to her locker when she suddenly felt a huge weight lifted off of her shoulders, literally. She quickly turned her head to see her best friend, Richard Grayson, smiling down at her. He had gripped the top of her backpack and used his insane muscles to lift it with one hand so that it barley rested on her shoulders at all. Dick jerked his head to the side and Rachel slipped her arms out of the backpack straps and allowed Dick to plop the large bag by her locker.

"You really should consider finding a way to lighten your work load, Rae," Dick. "I mean, I know your mind can handle it, but I'm not so sure your body can." Rachel just shook her head. Her best friend had also adopted the role of big brother in the past few years.

"I'm not a delicate flower, Dick, I think my body can carry a backpack,' she told him, rolling her eyes. Dick began rambling about how having such a heavy backpack could give Rachel scoliosis or something, but Rachel just ignored him and began unloading her many books into her locker. She had AP US history first bell, but then she would stop off at her locker before going to her second bell study hall. Once she'd pulled out her books, Rachel zipped up her backpack and turned to face Richard. He was still talking.

"You should be more like me. I get good grades, but I don't try to carry over half of my body weight to school everyday. You just have to be well organized. Do second bell's homework during first bell, and third bell's homework during second bell, and so on." He smiled at his brilliant technique. The only flaw in his plan, Rachel knew, was that Dick rarely ever actually finished his homework in each class. Usually he was too busy flirting with whichever girl was graced by his presence for an entire fifty minute class.

"Sorry, Dick, I actually have to pay attention in my classes remember? Unlike you, I'm taking difficult courses." In response, Dick just stuck his tounge out and made a funny face, which Rachel also did in return. The two of them were so mature.

"Seriously guys?" asked a familiar voice standing off to the side of the aruing pair. "Isn't that a little third grade?" asked Lexi, one of Rachel's closest friends. She and Dick got along well, but the two wouldn't likely speek much if they weren't both such good friends with Rachel. Lexi was a little edgier, which was apparent when you looked at her bright pink hair and diamon nose piercing. She looked a litte rough around the edges, but she was the sweetest person Rachel knew, and one of her only other friends. Rachel was one of the people who would rather have a few close friends than a lot of friends.

In response to Lexi's sudden appearance, Rachel and Dick composed themselves and pretended like the entire incident had not occurred.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Dick, grinning. Rachel and Dick just stood side by side and smiled like two innocent children. Lexi rolled her eyes. Rachel, however, was extremely thankful for the playful normalcy. This is how she and Dick had been since they met their freshmen year, but lately things had been slightly off. Dick had become involved with a girl named Stacy Carr, a sophmore, at the beginning of the year. Rachel had never met the girl before, but she was polite when they were introduced. Dick had a tendency to bounce from girlfriend to girlfriend without a second thought, so Rachel wasn't exactly concerned that she didn't love this new girl. But now, Rachel feared that she should be concerned. Dick had been acting slightly weird and Rachel had never seen him like this. Stacy followed them around and lured Dick away from Rachel every chance she got. Dick talked to Stacy on the phone every night, which meant less late night phone calls between the two best friends. For the past two years Dick and Rachel talked on the phone at night all of the time, whether he was dating someone or not. Sometimes it was about homework, or they would gossip about other students and teachers, and complain about insane amounts of homework and unresonable rules at school. The two had developed fun phone games, too. Their favorite was called "Random Questions." During this game they would come up with the most bizzare stuff like, "So if you had to get into a fight with a school mascott at a football game, what mascott would you choose?" It ws just a goofy game between the two, and no one else seemed to get it. That was what made Rachel and Dick's friendship so great- no one else understood it. People always wanted to say that the two were secretly in love with one another, or something else that made the friendship less real, but it was never true. They were just the best of friends.

Suddenly, there was a flash of red hair and a sky blue skirt and Dick was gone. He waved at Rachel as he was being drug away by Stacy and called out that he would see her at lunch, or something to that extent. Rachel couldn't help feeling a little bit crushed. She just closed her eyes and reminded herself that Dick never got into serious realationships. If he was working this hard, he must really want in her pants. It shouldn't have been a conforting thought, but it was. It gave Rachel the false hope that her best friend wasn't slipping through her fingers. Rachel felt a light hand rest on her shoulder, and she looked up at Lexi, who stood a few inches taller thn she. Lexi's expression confused Rachel for a moment. She looked down at Rachel with a look of pity in her eyes. Just because Rachel was trying to fool herself into thinking everything was okay didn't mean she was fooling anyone else. But before Lexi could say any comfoting words, the bell shrieked and the two girls parted ways off to their first bell classes.

At the end of the day Rachel gathered her belongings and made her way to the parking lot. She hadn't seen Dick since he had been dragged off right before the bell rang, and Rachel couldn't keep this terrible dread from forming in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong. He hadn't showed up at their usual lunch table today with Lexi, Garfield, and Victor. The five friends always ate lunch together. Was he avoiding her? It was all she could think about during her afteroon classes, and she had no idea what her psychology and physics teachers had been talking about. If she didn't dedicate the next few days to studying the material she missed in class, she was sure to fail the tests at the end of the week.

As Rachel approached her old, black car she noticed Dick leaning up against it. Her first reaction was beyond giddy. If he was waiting for her at her car then he couldn't be avoiding her! Rachel was about to let out a sigh of relief, and then she saw his face. He looked extremely anxious, like he was about to tell her something terrible. Rachel knew what he was going to say before the words exited his mouth.

"Hey, Rachel," he said as she walked up to her driver's door. "So, I just wanted to tell you that I asked Stacy to be my girlfriend today. I know you don't know her all too well, but I'm sure the two of you will get along great,' he assured. Rachel just nodded, too numb to speak. "I, well, I can't stay because I have to go to soccer practice, but I wanted you to know, since you're my best friend and all." With that he raced off toward the soccer field and Rachel just waved after him. Dick had never told her that he was dating someone like that. Last year he dated a freshman for two weeks and he never introduced Rachel at all. Something else was up. Something he wasn't telling her. Her stomach droppedd. They usually told each other everything.

That night Rachel layed in her bed after finishing her homework. It was 11:45 and Dick hadn't called her in two days, so Lucy figured he'd break himself away from his new girlfriend for five minutes to give her a call. But her phone never rang. By midnight Rachel was going crazy. The thought of losing her very closest friend and one of the few people she trusted in the whole wide world scared her more than anything else. The rational part of her brain told her that it was an irrational fear. Stacy had given Rachel no real reason to assume that she was going to end Dick and Rachel's friendship, but her gut said otherwise. Rachel knew she needed to talk to Dick.

She layed on her fluffy black and white comforter with her hand over her face and her phone on her ear. One ring. Two. Three_. Seriously, Dick?_Thought Rachel. He wasn't even going to answer? Thankfully, he picked up right before the call was sent to voicemail.

"Hey, Rae, whats up?' he asked. Rachel's nerves were going crazy as she slowly became an anxious mess. She needed to hear Dick say that everything was going to be okay. That Stacy was just another girl, but Rachel was his very best friend, his favorite person in the world.

"Not much," she told him, unable to hide the anxiety in her voice. Before he could ask any questions, Rachel blurted out, "Lets play random questions." There was a slight pause and it was obvious that Dick was confused- he could tell when Rachel was acting weird too. When he didn't say anything Rachel said, "I'll go first." Dick laughed a little bit. At least he would find out what was bothering her so much since she wasn't wasting time getting to the topic.

"Okay, shoot," he told her. Rachel took a deep breath and tried to calm herself so she didn't sound hysterical, paranoid, and insane when she asked the following question.

"What would you do if Stacy told you to stop talking to me?" This time, Dick didn't waste any time responding. His immediate reaction put Rachel at ease. He didn't have to think about it, as he shouldn't.

"Are you kidding, Rae? I'd dump her on her ass. You're my best friend, and nothing is going to come between us." Rachel almost began crying she was so relieved. Maybe her mind had just conjured up this insane situation after the incidences that had happened the past few days. _Everything is going to be okay,_ she thought. "Is that what this is all about? You think I'm going to ditch you because I'm dating Stacy?" He asked. The tone of his voice made Rachel flinch. He sounded like he thought she was totally insane. Under any other circumstances, Rachel would have thought she was totally insane as well, so she didn't blame him.

"Yea, I don't know," she told him. "You've just been acting kind of weird lately and I was getting worried. I didn't know what was going on," She said in her pathetic attempt to create an excuse for asking such an absurd question to her best friend. What had she been thinking?

"Look, Rae, I've been really busy the past few days, but that's it. I promise," he said. Rachel smiled. "but I have to go, okay?" he asked. The two of them said goodnight and then hung up. Rachel's mind was put completely at ease. Dick always knew the right thing to say.

Okay, so please, please review! If you're not a writer than you can't really understand how encouraging reviews are. Also, I'm basing the situation with Raven and Dick that began in this chapter and will continue off of my own experience. Traumatic life experiences are always great inspiration, right? Haha, thought you'd want to know.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey, so I updated super quickly and I'm very proud of myself. Although I have to admit that I'm disappointed that i only received one review. i mean, I understand that the first chapter wasn't very long, but I definitely expect more this time. Anyway, this chapter is pretty long, but I'm excited! And I introduced Red-X in this chapter. Please review!

Two days had passed since her conversation withDick Tuesday night, and Rachel hadn't spoken to him since, they didn't have any classes together, but Rachel always saw him before school and during lunch. After school he was usually too busy rushing off to soccer practice and couldn't take time to talk with his friends who usually hung out for a few minutes at their lockers after the final bell. But the past two days Dick hadn't shown up at their lunch table, and the group was beginning to get uneasy, although it was unspoken, as if no one wanted to jinx it. Rachel was trying to hold her heart together every time she walked through the hallway without a glimpse of his messy black hair and faithful smile. She tried telling herself that he was busy. He had school, soccer, and his new girlfriend to juggle and maybe he just didn't have the hang of it yet. Rachel also tried to tell herself that maybe he was sick. If he was really sick than that could also explain why he hadn't been calling her. But in the back of her head Rachel knew that Dick had never missed school without at least texting her saying he wasn't going to be there.

By seventh bell, Rachel's hopes of seeing her estranged best friend that day were basically crushed. She couldn't pay attention to a single word her AP physics teacher was saying, so Rachel had asked to go use the restroom ten minutes into class, and she had no intention of returning. It was extremely unlike Rachel to skip class, especially a class that was so difficult. Rachel knew that she was screwed for their next test since she hadn't been paying attention all week, but she just couldn't force herself to worry about it. She had other things on her mind.

With twenty minutes left in the bell, Rachel wandered the halls lost in thoughts she didn't want to think about. Without knowing it Rachel collided with a tall, hard body and bounced backwards.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," she mumbled, completely humiliated. Her entire face turned red as she continued to mutter her apology. When Rachel got nervous she always spoke really quickly, and in this case incoherently. As she stumbled over her words she heard the boy infront of her begin laughing.

"Don't worry about it, Angel," Rachel's head immediately shot up. The boy she had bumped into was Xavier Johnson, a boy in her grade, but certainly not someone she was friends with. Actually, she very much disliked Xavier. He and Dick had this ongoing rivalry and the two hated each other'sguts. Dick was the star soccer player and Xavier was the star swimmer. They battled for athletic fame and for all of the girls hearts. Where Dick was golden boy, Xavier was bad boy, and they couldn't be more different. "In fact I'm quite happy that you chose me to slam your body against for a few brief moments. It was actually rather enjoyable," he told her, winking. Rachel's face contorted with disgust.

Xavier was a tall boy, taller than Dick, and he was strong. He definitely had a swimmer's body withlong, lean muscles and broad shoulders. He stood at about 6'2, which was much taller than Rachel's 5'4. When she had collided with him she had bumped right into his very muscularchest. Xavier grinned down at her and his eyes seemed to be taking in every inch of her as they roamed her body. His eyes were a deep green color that shone out against his tan skin and messy, dark brown hair. His hair wasn't took long, but it fell in disheveled locks against his forehead. Rachel didn't even know what to say. She was _not_ used to having people say things like _that_ to her.

"Well, I didn't enjoy it," she told him in a matter-of-fact tone. She felt flustered and irritated and she wanted to get away from him. Xavier mocked a hurt expression, but it quickly turned back to his trademark smirk.

"I think you're lying,' he told her. Now he never took his eyes off her face, as if every glance was a challenge. Rachel was not in the mood. Actually, she didn't ever think she would ever be in the mood to tolerate Xavier's antics.

"You're ridiculous," she told him. "Anyway, don't you have a class to get back to?" she asked impatiently. Xavier just laughed. He skipped class all of the time. It was part of keeping up his big bad boy reputation.

"Now _you're _the one being ridiculous," he said, smiling. "It's way too late in the afternoon on a Friday for me to be wasting away in a classroom," he told her. His grin never left his handsome face, and Rachel couldn't help but notice how his trademark smirk fit him perfectly.

"Well if you're too cool for school," she began, "then why haven't you left yet?" again, Xavier laughed. Rachel hated how he kept laughing at everything she said. It was becoming very irritating. "What's so funny?" she asked, making her frustration very clear.

"Too cool for school?" Xavier repeated. He paused as if considering the idea for a moment. "I guess you could say that," he decided. "But if you want to know why I haven't left yet, you'll have to come a bit closer,' he told her. In response Rachel just raised her eyebrow skeptically. "What?" he asked. "It's a secret." Rachel rolled her eyes and took a step closer. Xavier just shook his head and motioned for her to come even closer. Scowling, Rachel took another step. Now there was less that a foot between them. Suddenly, Xavier reached out and wrapped a long, strong arm around Rachel's slim waist and pulled her against his body. Rachel gasped in surprise but didn't have time to move. Xavier quickly bent his head down and leaned in so that his lips hovered right next to Rachel's right ear. "I like the thrill," he told her. "Knowing I could get caught at any moment. I guess I'm a little bit of an adrenaline junkie," he told her. Rachel could feel his warm breath on her ear and it sent shivers down her spine. Once he was done talking Rachel began squirming, and Xavier immediately let her go. He didn't need to hold on to her any longer to be satisfied that he had made her extremely uncomfortable. He'd also made her blush. Rachel practically jumped backwards to put space between the two as she looked up at him venomously.

"Do not ever touch me," she told him. Rachel did not like being touched by anyone but her very closest friends, and even then she had pretty strict limits. What he had just done was not okay. Xavier just held his hands up in defense, but the widening grin on his lips said he was anything but apologetic.

"Sorry, Beautiful," he said, "you're just so damn irresistible," he said, winking. Rachel just stared at him. Did he seriously just wink at her? Like really? "Let me make it up to you," he said. "Give me you hand." Rachel was dumbfounded.

"What part of 'don't touch me" did you not understand?" she asked. He was obviously not as smart as she had thought. Xavier just rolled his eyes.

"Stop being such a drama queen and just give me your hand. I'm not going to hurt you, I pinkie promise," he told her, wiggling his pinkie in the air. Rachel looked at him hesitantly and handed him her right hand.

"I hope you know that I take my pinkie promises very serious," she warned. Xavier, however, did not look concerned. He took her right hand with his left and whipped out a red sharpie from his pocket with his right hand. Before Rachel could say anything he began scribbling on her hand with the permanent marker.

"Hey!" she objected as she yanked her hand back. But it was too late, by then Xavier had already finished writing. "I said you could see my hand not write on it!" As Rachel began examining her now red palm she realized it was a phone number. When she looked up at Xavier, a question forming on her lips, she saw that he had advanced toward her and now the two stood just inches apart. He leaned down and whispered in her ear again.

"It's my phone number," he told her. "Call me." And with that he turned on his heels and began sauntering down the hallway. Rachel could do nothing but stare at his long, lean form and glistening dark brown hair as it faded down the hall.

_What the hell just happened_, thought Rachel. She had barley ever spoken to Xavier before because he was one of Dick's enemies, therefore one of hers. She had no idea what had just occurred, but God she wished that she didn't love it when he whispered in her ear.

Rachel wrapped her arms around her thin frame as she walked toward the mass of fake fog that hung over the halloween festival. At night, the fall air cooled and left Rachel wishing she'd worn warmer clothes. Her thin purple sweater was not enough to protect her body from the growing wind that swept across the flat parking lot. The day had been sunny, and even though the air had been cool the warm rays of light had convinced Rachel that the temperature was warmer than it actually was. In her hurry to meet her friends at her favorite seasonal event, Rachel had rushed out of her house without considering the temperaturechange from day to night. Once Rachel had stepped out of her car her body was met with a harsh gust of wind, and that's when she knew that it was going to be a long night.

There was a local fairground that held a Halloween festival every weekend in the month of October, and it was one of the events Rachel and her friends looked forward to every year. The festival included small rides, game booths, haunted houses, and lots of food. There were also people, usually high school or college students, hired to dress up as monsters and pop out from random hiding places to scare the festival goers. That was Rachel's favorite part. She loved wandering around with her friends wondering whether or not something would surprise them around the next corner. The numerous fog machines that covered the fairground provided enough fog for someone to get lost in, which always happened to a few unfortunate children separated from their families every year. When Garfield was a kid, he had been one of those children lost in the fog, and he has hated the Halloween festival ever since.

Rachel whipped her cell phone out of the pocket of her blue, dark wash skinny jeans and slid up the screen to reveal the QWERTY keyboard. When Rachel had gotten the phone she had hated the way her new keys were set up, but it didn't take long for her to become extremely attached to the small device. Rachel sent out a text to Dick asking where she should meet her friends. Rachel was running late, which was unusual for her, but it wasn't her fault. Rachel had been arguing with her mother over the recent death sentence she'd received in family court. Her parents had been divorced since Rachel was two, and Rachel had never wanted anything to do with her drunk, abusive father. He had been completely absent from her life until two years ago. When Rachel began high school her father had appeared and demanded visitation rights to his daughter. Rachel thought that if she told the judge that she wanted nothing to do with her father, than he would magically disappear. And for a few years, that hadworked, but her father's persistence that he had cleaned up finally convinced the judge to give him a chance. Now, Rachel was stuck spending her saturdayevening with a man she barley knew, and only knew horrible things about. It was an understatement to say that she was in a bad mood.

By the time Rachel reached the gate and paid her five dollars to enter the festival, she still hadn't received a text from Dick. _Maybe they're on a ride or in a haunted house_, thought Rachel, even though the thought of her friends going into a haunted house without her made her sad. She stepped aside and set a text to Lexi, and this time she got an immediate response. _Guess they weren't on a ride_, Rachel thought. The text told Rachel to meet her friends by the maze, and Rachel knew exactly where that was. The haunted maze was such a large attraction that they could only fit it in the back, right corner of the fairground. Rachel set off through the fog in the direction of her destination. Unlike usual, Rachel wasn't delighted when she saw people popping out, and girls screaming. Her foul mood was really ruining her night.

When Rachel turned the next corner, someone surprised her and it wasn't a hired actor dressed in a mask. But it definitely was a monster.

"Hey, Beautiful," said Xavier, as he leaned against the outer wall of the maze. Rachel knew that her friends were just around the next corner at the maze entrance, and she was not letting this boy get in her way.

"Get out of my way," Rachel said, scowling. She wouldn't want to be around this boy on a normal occasion, but since she was in an especially bad mood she was definitely not going to put up with his antics. Rachel was about to step around him when a particularly strong gust of wind almost pushed her back against the maze. Her midnight black hair whipped her face and Rachel cursed herself for forgetting a hair band. Having her hair, which was a little past shoulder length, flopping around in the wind all night was going to be irritating. Rachel's body shook as the wind cut straight through her thin sweater and tank top, and Rachel let out a small yelp of surprise. Xavier, however, looked unphased by the weather. He looked down at Rachel and frowned. What the hell was she wearing? Wasn't she aware that it was fall in Jump city, which meant cold weather? Shaking his head, Xavier slipped his black hoodie off, and held it out for Rachel to take.

"Here," he said. Rachel just looked confused as she glanced from the jacket, to Xavier, then back to the jacket.

"What?" was all she could manage to say. A small smile played on Xavier's lips. It wasn't that difficult to understand. She was cold, and he was giving her his jacket.

"Put it on, Angle. I don't want you blowing away" he told her. When she didn't move he took her hand and placed his jacket on her plam. He then closed her fingers around the soft fabric. Rachel still looked confused. Where had this come from? Earlier at school he had been all pick up lines and sexuality, and now he was giving her his jacket?

"I don't want it- I'm fine," she told him. The jacket felt soft and thick in her hand, and even though Rachel longed for the warmth, she didn't want it from him. She held it back out to him but his hands didn't move from his jean pockets. "Look," she told him. Her tone was harsher than she had intended, but she was just so frustrated. She was frustrated about the situation with her dad. She ws frustrated that she hadn't spoken to Dick in two days. She was frustrated that Xavier wouldn't leave her alone. "I just want to get to my friends," she told him. Xavier cocked his head to the side and seemed to think about this statement.

"How about I offer you a deal?" he asked. Rachel looked at him skeptically. Based on her recent experiences with the boy standing infrontof her, the following deal would probably be far from acceptable. But then again, withthe whole jacket thing, Rachel was learning that he could surprise her. And he did. "You take my jacket and wear it tonight, and I'll let you go with your friends instead of keeping you all to myself," he said, grinning. Althoughthe prospect of standing there witha beautiful girl all night did seem outrageously appealing to Xavier, especially since that girl was Rachel Roth. Rachel thought about his offer. To her it was win, win sitution. She got to be warm and she got to be with her friends and she didn't have to be around this asshole. This arrogant, _attractive_ asshole.

"Deal," said Rachel, sticking out her hand that wasn't holding his jacket. Xavier couldn't help but let out a small laugh as he shook her hand to seal the deal. When they were done shaking hands, Xavier didn't let go. He looked down at her small hand wrapped in his much larger one. Her delicate, pale skin almost glowed in the dark setting, and he couldn't resist moving his thumb gently across the back of her palm. Her skin was smooth and he continued to rub delicate circles on her hand, completely mesmerized. Rachel was so surprised by his gentle touch that she didn't immediately yank her hand out of his grasp. After a moment she gently pulled her hand back and tried to hide the rosy tint that was growing on her cheeks. She didn't know why she was blushing. Xavier looked down at her sheepishly.

"So, I guess I'll give this back to you Monday?" asked Rachel as she slipped his large jacket over her slender shoulders. She sighed as the fabric warmed her body, which was practically shaking due to the relentless wind. The usual smirk reappeared on Xavier's face.

"Or you could give it back to me tomorrow," he told her, tapping that large red numbers tattooed on her palm. His usual air of arrogance surfaced, and Rachel just laughed.

"I wouldn't hold your breathe," she told him. His smile just grew wider, which made Rachel frown. She was turning him down and he was still smirking. That, too, was frustrating. "Anyway, I need to get to my friends." With that, she side stepped around Xavier and began walking toward the maze entrance.

"See ya later, Angel," he called after her, but Rachel ignored him. She walked toward the maze entrance and prayed that her friends hadn't entered the attraction without her because it was one of her favorites. As another gust of wind came, Rachel pulled the large jacket tighter around her body. It was a simple, black zip-up hoodie, but the inside was soft and warm, and Rachel was very thankful she had it, even if it was Xavier's. As she clutched the jacket, she noticed that it was filled with the most intoxicating scent. Rachel was so surprised by how incredibly pleasing the smell was, it almost stopped her in her tracks. She leaned her head in and gently sniffed the fabic. She didn't know exactly what the smell was, but she wished she did.

As Rachel rounded the corner she finally saw her friends. Lexi was sitting on the ground leaning against th maze wall, obviously complaining about something to Garfield. When her friends noticed her, Lexi popped up and bounced over to Rachel, wrapping her arms around the smaller girl in a hug. Victor and Garfiel waved, but when Rachel looked at Dick, he didn't look happy at all. He wasn't even looking in her direction. Rachel walked up to her friends and hugged Victor and Garfield, and then went to hug Dick. He was kind of just standing off to the side of the group and Rachel wondered if something was wrong.

"Hey," said Rachel as she walked over and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a hug, as she always did. Everytime her friends met up, and when they left, they all gave each other hugs. At the beginning of freshmen year Rachel never let any of her friends touch her because she was very in to having her own personal space, and she did not like being touched. But by the end of their sophomore year her friends had broken her down, so she let them hug her, but only them. But when Rachel hugged Dick he didn't move. Rachel pulled back and looked up at Dick's face, but his head was turned to the side, his expression cold as ice. "Dick?" Rachel asked, a hint a panic in her voice. What was going on? The others just stood watching the scene unfold. True, Dick hadn't been himself throughout the night, but he had joked and talked to them. Now, he would even _look_at Rachel. "Dick?" Rachel asked again in an attempt to get his attention. Before she knew it tears had whelled up in her eyes and she didn't know what to do. She just let go of him and took few steps back. "Whats going on?" she asked, almost in a whisper. She almost choked on a rising sob when Dick continued to stare off into space like an emotionless statue. Nothing like this had ever happened to Rachel, and she was frozen in place as tear tipped over her eyelashes and began sliding down her pale face.

Then Lexi kicked into action. She wanted to kick Dick's ass. She wanted to beat him til he screamed for Rachel's forgiveness. Lexi had no idea what was going on, but she was sure as hell going to find out. What amazed Lexi most was that no one else seemed as pissed off as she was. Granted, Garfield and Victor were equally close to Dick as they were to Rachel, whereas Lexi was much closer to Rachel than Dick, but the two boys still should be enraged by the scene happening before them. They knew that Rachel hadn't done anything, and that she didn't deserve to have her heart ripped out by the only person she truly trusted in the world. Why weren't they jumping to her defense? Demanding an explanation from Dick? Lexi wanted to scream, but instead she just grabbed Rachel's arm and began to pull her away from the group. As much as Lexi wanted to kick some serious ass right now, it was more important to get Rachel away from Dick. Every moment she begged for him to look at her and he didn't was one more month it was going to take Rachel to recover from this, and probably one more year that it would take for her to ever trust anyone again. Dick knew Rachel better than anyone, and he knew what he had just done.

Once the two girls had fled the scene and ducked behind a few game booths, Lexi turned Rachel to face her. Rachel's face was tear streaked and her eyes were puffy and red. The large black hoodieher friend was wearing was being used to mop up the tears that flowed freely from her face while the other hand covered her mouth so no one else could hear the choking sobs escaping her throat.

"Rachel?" asked Lexi. She didn't know what to do. How do you handle a situation like this? "Okay, I don't know what that was but I'm going to find out, okay?" she asked in a soothing voice. Rachel nodded, but she already knew what that was. A few nights earlier Dick had lied to her on the phone. He'd lied right to her face. Lexi rubbed her forhead in frustration. "Rachel, I think you need to go home," she told her best friend. Rachel nodded in agreement. "Do you need a ride home?" asked Lexi. And Rachel shook her head "no". Lexi sighed and wrapped the crying her in a big hug. Pulling away she said, "Text me when you get home so I know you're okay." And Rachel was gone. She bolted for the parking lot. She ran as fast as she could in a mad attempt to run away from her problems. It was like the further she ran from Dick the more the memory would fade, the less she would see his blank look gazing upwards, the less the gut-wrenching pain in her chest would hurt. She just wanted the whole thing to fade away, so she kept running.

As she entered the parking lot Rachel looked frantically for her car, her sanctuary, but she couldn't remembered where she had parked through the choas that ran free in her mind. Rachel turned right as she remembered that she had parked near the ferris wheel. Unfortunately, her car was black, which made it much more difficult to spot in the dark, crowded lot. Suddenly Rachel slipped on the gravel that covered the ground and went flying on to her stomach. She threw her arms out in an attempt to catch herself before her body collided with the small stones. Without a second thought Rachel jumped back up again because she refused to let herself stay in one spot. She just needed to keep moving forward.

Finally Rachel slammed her car door closed and leaned her head back against her seat, breathing heavily. The wet lines on her face left behind by the downpour of tears burned in the cold night air. Rachel didn't know how long she sat in her car panting and crying, but after awhile she was out of tears and she just wanted to go home. She wanted to crawl into her fluffy, warm bed and cry herself to sleep with the insane notion that things would be better in the morning. And that's exactly what she did.

I hope you liked it! PLEASE REVIEW! All commnts are appreciated and I'd be happy to answer and questions you have.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry that this chapter took me so long. I really have no excuse since I've known what I wanted to happen in this chapter since day one, but I'm still sorry. I want to thank everyone who reviewed, because the reviews are really what motivated me to update! This chapter is dedicated to SPAZTASTIC-WONDERS for sendine me numerous motivating messages. Thanks to all of my readers, I hope I don't dissapoint! I know this chapter is long, but I hope you like it.**

Saturday afternoon Rachel sat in her _favorite_ coffee shop drinking her _favorite_ tea, after going to her _favorite_ bookstore, after one of the _worst_ days of her Rachel wasn't thinking about blurred memory or her horrific night. Rachel always handled problems in her life the same way- pretending that they didn't exist and hoping that they would go away. Sadly, this rarely ever worked out, and it usually came back to bite her in the ass in the end, but it remained Rachel's preferred way of handling stressful situations.

So Rachel sat in one of the large, comfy chairs in the dimly lit cafe and immersed herself in her new novel. That was another way that Rachel dealt with her problems. She read. Rachel had always loved to read, and somewhere in her early teens Rachel learned that a good book could completely distract her from her problems for days. She could live in a different world and worry about problems like dragons, evil wizards, and rescue mission, instead of crying over best friends and family court rulings.

It was already past one in the afternoon. Normally, Rachel would be sitting in this chair by 11:30, but today that was when she had woken up. Rachel was a morning person b y nature, but after her stressful night of tears she ended up sleeping longer than she had in a long time. When she finally woke up, Rachel's mind was clear of the hazy confusion of the night before. It was the first time she noticed the mess of thin red lines scattered across her palms from her tumble in the parking lot the night before. Rachel sighed as she examined Xavier's sweatshirt and found small amounts of blood at the tips of his sleeves. Thankfully, the material was black, but Rachel would wash it before she gave it back anyway. Once she had gotten home from the Halloween festival, Rachel had immediately climbed into bed without even changing clothes, and the wonderful smell from Xavier's jacket helped lull her to sleep. But she definitely wasn't going to tell him that she slept in his clothes. It seemed weird.

By the time Rachel had showered and driven to her favorite bookstore, it was 12:30 and it was 1:00 by the time she reached her favorite cafe. The people who worked at the coffee shop knew Rachel because she came in regularly, but one look at her told them that she wasn't in the mood for small talk. Some of the workers knew the quiet girl pretty well, and they hoped that they would eventually hear the story behind the quiet girl's crestfallen expression, but they weren't going to get it out of her today.

An hour and a half and 75 pages later, Rachel exited the parking lot and headed to her old, black car in the small parking lot. She didn't want to go home, but Rachel's stomach cried out for food and she had spent all of her money on her book and tea. But once Rachel turned her key in the ignition, her stomach dropped when her car failed to spur to life. Rachel tried again. Three times.

"Oh my god," she said in disbelief. This was not happening. After what Rachel had gone through last night, she assumed that it wasn't going to get any worse. She thought that if she went along with her normal routine, she would avoid any other unfortunate incidences. She was wrong.

'C'mon...' she mumbled as she repeatedly twisted the small silver key. After a while, Rachel gave up and slammed her small fist against the steering wheel in frustration, and the horn screamed in protest. Immediately Rachel's face turned red because everyone in the cafe was looking out the window because she had just honked infront of the front door. Rachel took a deep breath. Obviously she couldn't afford to be this upset. She would think rationally. She would call her mother and tell her what was going on, and then she would call AAA so they could tow her car. Hopefully nothing would be wrong with it, and her car would be back safe and sound in a matter of days. This was not the wonderful start to her day that Rachel had wanted.

Angry. That's how Rachel felt. After her car failed on her and she had sat in the parking lot waiting for the tow truck for 45 minutes, her mother finally picked her up just to remind her that she was going to her father's house that night. The day just got worse and worse! It wasn't fair, and Rachel wanted to scream. Her father had to know some people in pretty high places to pull some strings, because neither Rachel nor her mother knew how her father convinced a judge to force Rachel to spend the entire night at his house. When Rachel had thought that she would just be there for the evening, a period of time so small that there was barley enough time for dinner and small talk, she had thought that her world was ending. But now? There was some god somewhere that hated her, and Rachel's entire world was going up in flames.

Rachel threw some of her belonging into a small bag. She packed clothes to escape in and clothes to escape in the next morning. If she was lucky, Rachel would be up and out before her father even stirred. Rachel also planned on bringing her backpack. Normally, Rachel would save her homework for Sunday evenings, but if she was going to spend the entire night at her father's, then she might as well be productive. Plus, if she could convince her father that doing homework on Saturday nights was her normal routine, then maybe he would leave her alone with her books.

By the time 6:30 rolled around, Rachel was sitting in the passenger's seat of her mother's car in front of her father's small house. When Rachel was leaving her house, she remembered that her car had broken down earlier. No car meant no early getaway, unless she could convince her mom.

"Can you be here super early tomorrow morning?" Rachel asked her mother. Rachel's mom didn't want her daughter at her father's house any more than Rachel wanted to be there, but Rachel's relationship with her mother was strained, so the conversation was awkward.

"I'll try," her mother told her. "I'll call you when I'm on my way." Rachel just nodded. But the truth was that Rachel was leaving at the crack of dawn, whether her mother was there or not. Rachel would get one of her friends to come rescue her, or maybe she would just walk. It didn't matter.

Finally Rachel made her way up to the front door and knocked. She hoped that by some twist of fate her father had forgotten about the arrangement and left town. Sadly, Luck just wasn't on Rachel's side this week. The white door swung open and revealed a large man with long, prematurely white hair.

"Hi, Rachel! Just on time," he told her. His voice sounded excited, but Rachel knew better. She had very few memories of her father, but she knew plenty of stories, and she didn't doubt how true they were. She knew. She knew that the man before her was a monster. She knew that his muscular arms weren't those of a gentle giant, but the arms of an angry, abusive tyrant. He wasn't going to fool her, because Rachel _knew_.

Rachel nodded. "Dad."

By ten o'clock at night, Rachel sat curled up in one of the large recliners in her father's living room. The moment Rachel had arrived at her father's house she pitched the idea to go out to eat so she wouldn't have to spend so much time trapped in his house. Rachel couldn't help but feel unnerved by his presence, and quite truthfully, she felt safer in public.

Rachel had stalled as much as possible at the restaurant, too. She took forever to decide what to order, and even longer to actually eat the meal. Sadly, this tactic didn't save her from some quality family time at her father's house. The pair sat in his dark living room watching a recently recorded football game. Apparently, her father loved football, and he wanted to share that love with his daughter. Rachel, however, hated sports. Sure, she had been to the occasional soccer game to support Dick because he was her best friend, b but Rachel hated football.

As the game went on, Rachel noticed a change in her father's mood, and it didn't come by itself. It came with his first beer. And then he had a second. And a third. Once her father returned from a short trip to the kitchen with a silver can in hand, warning bells immediately went off in Rachel's head. Her father had told the family court judge that he hadn't touched a drink in years. Once he had started petitioning to see his daughter, her father said that he had started going to AA, and had stayed in the program for the past two years. Her father's efforts to prove that he had "cleaned up" were the only reason that the judge forced Rachel to go to his house! But once Rachel saw that first can she realized that it had all been a lie. He hadn't changed at all- he'd just become a better liar.

For Rachel, the evening was tense, but her father didn't seem to notice. He probably didn't notice much of anything, actually, since Rachel had stopped counting his beer twenty minutes ago. Even though Rachel knew she should be terrified, she wasn't particularly concerned. The logical part of her brain said that her father wouldn't dare lay a finger on her because then he would throw away everything he'd worked for during the past two years. But Rachel's gut said otherwise. The reason her parents had split was because her father was a terrible, abusive, drunk and Rachel knew that nothing had changed.

She didn't know how it had happened. After so many beers her father had begun ranting. At first it was just screaming at the TV when his team was losing, even though he had already seen the game, but then he was just ranting about everything. And soon, it turned to Rachel and the family court judge. He was complaining about how it took him two years and way too much damn work just to see his daughter, and he was cussing out the judge as if she was there. It irritated Rachel, but she didn't really care. Rachel knew that the moment she told the "bitch" judge about her father's drinking, and then she would never have to see him again.

But then the conversation turned toward Rachel's mother. He called her a whore and a "good for nothing, child stealing bitch." And Rachel lost it. He had no right to speak about her mother like that. True, Rachel wasn't close to her mother, but her father was the monster, not her mother. He was the one who almost beat her to death. All her mother had done was left to try to save Rachel's life.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," said Rachel in a calm voice, though her rage was evident in her tone. And before Rachel knew it, her father had made his way out of his chair and come to stand in front of his daughter. Truthfully, Rachel was surprised that he had been able to do it with such speed since he was so damn drunk. Rachel tried to take a step back, out of fear and because her father reeked of beer. But he reached out and roughly grabbed her arm to hold her in place.

'What did you say?" he asked. Rachel shouldn't have said anything. Her father's tightening grip should have been a warning sign, but she was just so angry! She was angry that she was there because her father was a good liar. It just wasn't fair, and Rachel couldn't hold it in any longer.

"You're wrong," she told him. And that was it. She father reached up and slammed his fist across Rachel's right cheek and then threw the girl back into the wall. A loud grunt escaped Rachel throat as the air was knocked out of her chest. Her head was spinning, and Rachel was so surprised that when she collided with the wall she slumped to the ground, and her shoulder banged against a small table on the way down. Immediately Rachel knew that she was in trouble. Once she looked up Rachel saw her father approaching her again because he wasn't done yet. Rachel needed to think fast. She needed to get out!

Immediately her head twisted to look at his front door and she didn't hesitate. Rachel was going to use her father's drunken state to her advantage. Her head was spinning and her chest and shoulder burned, but all she could think about was the door. Rachel grabbed the copper door handle and swung the heavy door open with all of her might. In her frenzy she managed to slam the door shut as well in an attempt to stop her father from pursuing her. Rachel's mind was in complete panic. She hadn't seen this coming and she didn't know where to go or what to do. If only she had her car! The gods truly were against her. Rachel stumbled down the few stairs leading off of her father's tiny porch but then she hesitated. She could turn left and head further in to the residential neighborhood and hide, or she could turn right and try to make it to one of the main streets with all of the shops. Rachel didn't even know if her father would bother chasing her in his drunken state, but the rage she had seen in her eyes scared her enough that she didn't want to risk it. Rachel turned right.

Rachel was never the athletic type, so her muscles screamed in protest not long after she began sprinting down the concrete path. And that wasn't the only part on her body that pulsed with a growing pain, but Rachel didn't stop to catalogue her injuries. She was in survival mode. Thankfully, Rachel had managed to keep her trusted cell phone in her hand. Rachel knew that her mother was out with friends for the evening, so it would be no use calling her. Immediately Rachel dialed Dick's number as she continued running. Her feet ached because she hadn't been wearing shoes when she made her escape, so her thin white socks did little to protect her feet from the rough, hard pavement.

Rachel held the phone to her ear as she continued toward the more metropolitan area of town. She knew that her father would have a better chance of finding her if Rachel stayed in the residential neighborhoods, but she feared being spotted running on the main streets into the more populated areas as well. If her father was in his car and had chosen to head in the same direction she was, he would catch her quickly. Very quickly.

It passed through Rachel's mind that maybe she should stop running and hide in the bushes along the sidewalk instead. If her father was following her, then he would never spot her the bushes at night. She could sit there and wait until Dick came to get her. This idea also agreed with Rachel's body, which was wearing down from her run. She wasn't used to this kind of exertion and it was becoming more and more difficult to breathe.

No answer. The shock of the sound of Dick's voicemail almost made Rachel stop. She _needed_ him. She needed him right now more than she had ever needed anyone in her entire life, and he didn't answer. He was too concerned with his new relationship to save his best friend. Rachel needed to stop. It was all too much. Her father, her wounds, her best friend, when would it end? Rachel limped over to a shaded tree and leaned against it as she tried to catch her breathe through her sobs. She hadn't realized that she had been crying since she fled her father's house, but now her tears flowed stronger because of Dick and everything else.

What now? Who would she call? Sure, Rachel had other friends, but she didn't trust them like Dick. She didn't want anyone but him, and he wasn't there. Rachel covered her face with her hands to wipe away the tears. When she looked at her bruised and scraped palms, she noticed the large red numbers that still remained tattooed on her skin. Without a second though, Rachel was dialing.

"Hello?" Answered Xavier. Rachel didn't waste time with formalities. All she could think about was getting out of there. She needed someone.

"Xavier? It's Rachel," she began frantically, not allowing him time to say some smartass remark about how he knew she would call because he was just so damn irresistible. But Xavier wouldn't have said anything like that anyway, because he could hear her crying through the phone, and he was immediately concerned. "I-I need help, please," pleaded Rachel as she stumbled over her words.

"Rachel, what's going on?" asked Xavier, slightly panicked. Why was she calling him for help? He didn't have to be a genius to know that if she was calling him, she must be really desperate. "Are you okay?" he asked in a demanding tone.

"No," Rachel told him through her sobs. "I'm not okay. I need help. Please, please come pick me up. I need someone to come get me," she told him. Rachel remained leaned up against the tree and she wasn't sure that she could move again. She was so tired, physically and mentally, and the pain of her father's attack was beginning to set in. Rachel could feel the small stream of blood that flowed from the cut on her cheekbone from when he had punched her in the face. By now it was swollen and surely bruised as well. Her shoulder screamed from when she had slammed against the wall by the force of his punch, and Rachel was pretty sure she'd sprained her ankle when she was pulling herself off of the ground and stumbling down the stairs. She wasn't going to get anywhere like this. She needed help.

Rachel, I need you to listen to me, okay?" Rachel made a whimpering sound to confirm that she was listening. "I'm getting in my car right now, but I need to know where you are." Rachel looked around. Where _was_ she? The street signs up ahead caught her eye and Rachel was able to tell that she was close to the Kroger, and not far from school.

"I'm at the intersection of Walnut and Elder," Rachel told him, but she knew that he probably wouldn't recognize the names. "It's by the Kroger, the one kind of by school?" She told him, secretly pleading for him to recognize where she was.

"I know where you are," said Xavier, and Rachel let out a sigh of relief. It was almost enough relief to make her begin crying again. 'Rachel, can you make it to the Kroger? I think it would be best if I picked you up in the Kroger parking lot. I can be there in five minutes, can you?" Xavier's voice was laced with concern, but he was firm. It was obvious that his first priority was just getting to Rachel so that he could see with his own eyes that she was okay.

"Yea, I'm on my way there now," Rachel told him as she used the tree to pull herself up. Her muscles were already so sore, but she pushed through. Now that she had a destination instead of just running aimlessly, Rachel was able to regain her motivation to move. "Xavier?" said Rachel, sniffling. "Thank you," she said sincerely. This was so much to ask of someone she barley knew, and his obvious concern to get to her quickly made Rachel look at the boy in a completely different way. But she didn't have time to consider his noble actions now.

"I'm happy you called me," he told her. 'I'll see you in five minutes." And with that, he hung up and Rachel took off. The cold wind whipped her sleek black hair around her face as she plowed forward down the sidewalk toward the bright lights of the grocery store parking lot. It was difficult to run now that her ankle was beginning to swell from the sprain and her muscles were tense and tired, but Rachel barley noticed. She just needed to make it to the parking lot.

Finally Rachel collapsed by one of the tall lights in the back of the parking lot, and curled her arms around her bare legs. She was absolutely freezing because she was dressed in only her very short lavender pajama shorts, a black tank top, her socks, and Xavier's jacket. Thankfully Xavier's zip-up hoodie was so large on her petite frame that it actually went below her shorts and covered part of her bare legs. Rachel hoped that Xavier could find her since she was curled up on the ground in the dark lot, but Rachel could not bring herself to move to a different area. But Xavier had no trouble spotting her.

Truthfully it was more of a ten-minute drive, but Xavier would have gone through hell to get to her, so speed limits certainly weren't going to stop him. He zoomed into the parking lot, looking frantically for Rachel. When he spotted her leaning against the lamppost on the ground, he slammed his car to a stop, threw the machine into park, and jumped out of his car. He didn't waste any time running over to Rachel.

When Rachel saw Xavier get out of his car she realized that she hadn't been so happy to see someone in her entire life, so it was strange that the person she was happiest to see was him. He raced toward her and knelt down to look at her. Xavier immediately noticed the trail of blood coming from her swollen and bruised cheekbone and he was astonished. Before he knew it, Xavier was filled with rage. Who had done this to her? She looked so frail curled up in his jacket and her skin looked even more pale than usual. He wanted to ask a hundred questions, but instead, he reached out and pulled her into his lap. The gesture of love and comfort, which Rachel was so unfamiliar with, made her burst out in tears again.

Before, Rachel had never stopped running, so she never stopped to think about the incidences that had occurred in the past half hour. She never stopped to examine her injuries. But now, safe in Xavier's arms, the pain of every injury on her body spurred to life, and the brutal memory of her father's angry attack, her frantic escape, Dick's neglect, and all of her tears, stress, and pain came flooding back in one moment until the poor girl was a mess of sobs.

"Shhhh," soothed Xavier as her ran his hand along her back. Seeing her like this almost broke his heart. He didn't want her to have to go through something like this, and it was even more frustrating that Xavier didn't actually know what was going on! But he knew that now was not time for questions. "It's okay," he told her. "You're safe now." He kissed the top of her head and slowly lifted her up so that he was carrying her "bridal style". He walked her to his car and sat down in the passenger's seat with Rachel in his lap. Inside his car it was easier to sit, plus they had shelter from the cold night air and growing wind.

Rachel was frantic and she didn't know what to do. She hated that he of all people was seeing her like this, and she tried to explain her situation, but through her tears her words were barley understandable. What Xavier did manage to understand, though, was that somehow her own father had done this to her. He understood that she was terrified, and he wished that Rachel would tell him if she had any other injuries besides the obvious one on her face, but he couldn't pry her away from his chest to get a better look.

Eventually, Rachel calmed down and it seemed that she may have drifted off to sleep in his arms. Xavier rubbed his forehead. He couldn't take her back to her house obviously, since her father had done this to her. So, he decided to take her to his house. He needed to clean her up and make sure that any other injuries she may have were minor, and she needed a safe place to sleep. He kissed her head again, and slowly moved the slumbering girl off of his lap as he slipped out of the car. He walked around to the driver's side and tried to be as quiet as possible as she started his car and headed home.

Rachel slowly awoke and stretched out her slim physique. As she stretched her arms out to the side, she small hind collided with a hard body, and Rachel yelped as she bolted upright and scurried to the edge of the bed. _What the hell?_ Though Rachel. Rachel scream jolted Xavier from his sleep, and he frantically tried to sit up, but only managed to fall off of the bed.

"What's wrong? What's going on?" He asked, as he peeked his head over the edge of the mattress. After what had happened the night before, he expected to find Rachel in some kind of dire situation, but all he saw was the small girl wrapped up in his black sheets. He sighed.

"What the hell am I doing here?" asked Rachel. Once she realized that the boy in bed with her was Xavier, her panic faded and it was re[placed with frustration and confusion. Rachel tried to replay the night in her head. She knew that she had called Xavier, and he had come to her rescue, but that was all she could remember. And that scared her.

"Well good morning to you, too, Sunshine," said Xavier sarcastically as he pulled himself off of the floor. He stood up and stretched, and Rachel could see the muscles in his chest and shoulders move as he moved his arms above his head. Why was he not wearing a shirt? The boy stood before her wearing nothing more than a pair of sweatpants that were hung dangerously low on his waist. Looking at him lack of clothing, Rachel quickly checked herself. She was still wearing her tank top and shorts from he night before. _Thank god_, Rachel thought. Without any memory of the night before, Rachel needed to make sure nothing happened once they got back to his house.

"Xavier," Rachel said firmly to get his attention. She needed answers. "Why am I here?" Xavier rubbed his face. Wasn't it a little early for questioning? How about a "thank you"?

"I brought you here last night because you fell asleep in my car," he told her calmly. He didn't want to seem angry or frustrated after what she had gone through the night before. Before Rachel could say anything else, Xavier hold up his hand. " I brought you back here because I wanted to make sure you were okay and safe. Last night you told me that your father did this to you, so I obviously wasn't going to take you home" he said, referencing her injuries. He hoped that she wouldn't break down at the mention of her father, but he needed to explain everything. Xavier walked over to stand in front of Rachel. She needed time to let everything sink in. After all, she had been through a lot, and he didn't want to rush her.

"I don't live with my dad," Rachel told him. She wasn't angry anymore because she understood his reasoning He had no way of knowing about her family. "But…thank you," she said hesitantly. Xavier just smiled. Now that everything was cleared up, he could get a better look at her injuries in the daylight.

Xavier moved and sat on the edge of the bed across from Rachel. He carefully moved his hand to rest of her cheek as he examined what he could see of her bruised face. When they had gotten to his house, he had put her in his bed while he examined her body for injuries. It was obvious that she had a sprained ankle and he could see the beginning of a large bruise on her left shoulder, but his main concern was the swollen cut on her face. So, he had gotten a small towel to clean up the wound, and then covered it with a bandage. He also rested some ice on her ankle to help the swelling, but after awhile she had kicked it off in her sleep. Xavier had been telling Rachel what he was doing the entire time, but it turns out she wasn't as awake as he had thought she was.

"How do you feel?" he asked softly. Rachel took a moment to move a bit. Her ankle and shoulder hurt, and it hurt when she talked because of the wound on her face. She reached up and felt the bandage that Xavier had used to cover the cut. Rachel realized in that moment how much he had done for her, and he didn't have to. She looked up and met his deep green eyes, and they were filled with concern. How could Rachel feel so safe with someone she barley knew?

"My should and ankle hurt," she answered. "But thank you for bandaging my face," she added shyly. He just smiled. Even all beat up Xavier thought Rachel looked beautiful. Her black hair fell in a tousled mess below her shoulders, and he could see a hint of her black lacy bra peak out from under her tank top. He knew he shouldn't be checking her out at the moment, but he couldn't help it. How could he not check out a beautiful girl wrapped up in his sheets on his bed? It didn't get much sexier than that.

"Do you mind if I change your bandage so I can get a look at your cut?" he asked as he tried to get his mind to move away from Rachel's cleavage and onto the problems at hand. Rachel hesitated, but then nodded. A few days ago she would have screamed and run away just from being within feet of him, but now, she had a strong desire to be held in his arms. She had never felt so safe around someone in her entire life. Xavier smiled and walked into the connected bathroom and came out with a small first aid kit. He sat down across from Rachel again, and she could feel his warm, rough hands on her face

**I hope you liked it! Remember, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!**

**TheLastGreatStarInHollywood**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so I know its been FOREVER since I updated this story, and I don't have an excuse (unless you count laziness and a lack of motivation). Anyway, I was reading through my previous chapters and I would like to apologize for the outrageous amount of typos. I;m hoping to go back and fix them soon. Anyway, here is the next chapter. I have everyone who reviewed to thank for this because when I got reviews I would go write a bit of this chapter and I finally pieced it together and filled in the gaps. So if you want another chapter, REVIEW! Enjoy(:**

It didn't take long for Rachel to ask Xavier to take her home. She felt awkward being with a boy she barley knew when she was in such a vulnerable state. Rachel's gut told her that Xavier would never try to take advantage of her at a time like this, but Rachel never knew what to expect from Xavier, and she found that particularly unnerving. He was either cocky and arrogant or extremely sweet, but Rachel never knew which side of him was going to come out.

Even though it was apparent that Rachel wanted to leave, Xavier was reluctant to let her go. He wanted more time to get to know her. Plus, he never got the full story of the night before, but Xavier could feel her emotional barriers flying up, and he was beginning to wonder if he ever would. After all, it was extremely personal, and he was lucky to be part of the story at all. But that did raise a question that Xavier wanted answered. Why did she call him?

Rachel sat awkwardly at the small table in Xavier's kitchen. He had convinced the girl to stay for breakfast because "she needed the energy for her body to heal," or something to that extent. But in reality Xavier just wanted some time to talk to her one on one knowing that he may not get the chance again sometime soon. Rachel had eluded him for years because of that pesky brat, Dick, was always glued to her side. And along with getting some one on one time with Rachel, Xavier really wanted to try out his new waffle iron!

As Xavier stirred everything together for the waffle mix he watched Rachel as she pulled his black hoodie around her slim figure. She was practically swimming in all of the fabric, and it was almost comical. But this was Xavier's chance. Any questions he had needed to be asked now. Putting the bowl down, Xavier walked over to the island in his kitchen and hopped up on the counter facing Rachel. In response she just looked up and eyed him curiously.

"So," he began somewhat awkwardly. His attempts at conversation hadn't gone so well before, but Xavier had a feeling that small talk wasn't Rachel's kind of thing. He knew that she was way too intelligent to be chatting up her peers about the weather or last night's episode of American Idol. "Can I asked you a question?" asked Xavier, gaining some of his confidence. It wasn't so much a question as it was a warning that no matter how she responded he was going to ask her a question. Rachel just rolled her eyes but knew that he was going to ask whether she liked it or not.

"What kind of question?" she asked suspiciously. For all she knew it would be anything from "What kind of bra are you wearing?" to "What's your favorite ice cream topping?" But Xavier just grinned. He should have expected that she would answer a question with a question.

"Why did you call me last night?" he asked. Xavier was genuinely curious. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you did," he added. But when Rachel didn't respond immediately, Xavier just kept talking. "Let me guess, you just couldn't resist my charm?" It was only after he said it that Xavier realized that the question had hit a sore spot. Rachel's face looked close to tears and Xavier immediately regretted his joking tone. He knew that what she had been through the night before was nothing to joke about. But Rachel's near broken expression had nothing to do with Xavier, or even her father. It had everything to do with Dick.

"Dick didn't answer his phone," Rachel answered almost in a whisper. Xavier's head shot up. It had taken her so long to respond, Xavier had assumed that she just wasn't going to answer at all. But that explanation really caught him off guard and he had to keep his jaw from hitting the floor. So that is what she was so upset about. It was no secret that Rachel and Dick were the best of friends, even though they were an unlikely pair. Xavier had noticed that the dynamic duo had been spending more time apart because that was the only way Xavier had been able to speak to Rachel both at school and at the festival. He had just assumed that Dick was too busy running around with that sophomore slut, and Xavier secretly hoped that Dick got an STD. But it was obvious that there was more behind the two friends separation, and Xavier could tell by Rachel's facial expression that it was tearing her apart.

Xavier had the sudden urge to take his waffle iron and throw it against the wall. Or better yet he could take it to Dick's fancy mansion and waffle iron his face. But instead Xavier just slammed his hand against the island. The loud smack surprised Rachel and she was stunned to see the rage that filled Xavier's eyes. Everything was falling into place in Xavier's head. He had followed Rachel around the corner at the festival and witnessed the altercation between her and Dick. It had raised a lot of questions, but when Rachel had called him he had completely forgotten until now. Xavier didn't really know what was going on between the two friends, but he wanted to beat Dick to a pulp.

"That little bastard was always shoving me away because he was supposedly so protective of you, but then he goes and does this? I saw what he did at the festival. How could he treat you like this?" Rachel was stunned by Xavier's reaction. He acted like he cared about her and her feelings so much more than she would have expected from someone who was basically a stranger. However, part of Rachel's shock was that Xavier was obviously aware of the tension in her and Dick's relationship. It was that obvious. Rachel had to suppress a groan. If Xavier had noticed, chances are half of the school was buzzing with some insane rumor about why the two friends were separating. Great.

But there was one thing that Xavier said that really caught Rachel's attention, and she had barley heard anything else. She stood up and crossed the room to stand infront of Xavier and looked him in his eyes.

"What did you mean when you said that Dick was always pushing you away to be protective?" she asked sternly. It shouldn't have meant anything, but Rachel could feel his words nagging at the back of her mind as if it was desperately trying to bring back some memory just out of reach.

Xavier stared down at Rachel from his spot on the counter in disbelief. Had Dick really never told her? Had she seriously never _noticed_? Sliding off of the counter, Xavier looked down at the petite girl who stood just inches from him. She refused to step backwards just because he came closer. She would stand her ground until she got answers. Thankfully, Xavier was happy to give them.

"Dick told me to stay away from you, Rachel," he told her. "Every time I've tried to speak to you in the past few years that little pest was always there to shove me back without reason. Like he _owned you_. I always figured that it was because he was secretly in love with you or something, but then I'd see him running around with a new girl every five minutes." Xavier sighed. "I just wanted to talk to you and get to know you, but he was so damn possessive. He always told me to fuck off." Rachel just looked up at Xavier stunned for the millionth time that morning. She didn't know what to think. Again, her mind was in chaos. Her initial instinct was to slap him and call him a liar, but she didn't. Somewhere in Rachel's mind she believed him. What motive would Xavier have to tell her such an elaborate lie anyway? Nothing made sense to Rachel and she wanted to scream, but all she could manage to say was,

"But why would he do that?" Rachel wasn't even looking at Xavier anymore. Instead, he eyes frantically searched the floor as if she would find all of the answers to her life problems among the tile pieces. Xavier just rubbed his forehead.

"I don't know," he told her honestly. "I know this whole thing with Dick is shattering your little world to pieces, but I'm happy that it gave me a chance to get to you." Xavier stared down at Rachel waiting to see how what he had just said would be received. She seemed to tense, but didn't say anything as if she was considering it. Eventually all she said was,

"Tell me more."

**- Page break -**

It had taken a lot of convincing for Rachel to agree to let Xavier be her ride to and from school until her car was fixed. Thankfully her mom had gotten the call while she was at her dad's from the mechanic saying that her car would be ready in a few days. But until then Rachel was conflicted about her situation. She couldn't tell if she was excited that Xavier wanted to give her a ride, curious about spending more time with him, or angry about feeling like a damsel in distress constantly needing him to rescue her. Rachel didn't like feeling like she depended on other people. She liked to take care of herself. After all, the last person she whole heartedly depended on was Dick, and look how well that turned out.

As Xavier pulled up to the curb outside of her house, Rachel quickly ran out of her front door bracing herself against the seemingly relentless autumn wind. She hoped that he would steer clear of the topic of what happened once Rachel was finally delivered home to her mother who had gone to her father's house Sunday morning only to discover her ex-husband passed out on the couch and her daughter missing. It had been an uncomfortable morning once Rachel was finally home, and she was pretty sure that she was grounded for not calling her mother when it happened.

As Rachel hopped into Xavier's car, he took notice of everything from her lavender sweater to her black bodycon skirt, lace patterned tights, and grey suede boots. He had to admit that the girl knew how to dress. All of her outfits seemed to have a common theme in its muted color but impeccable fit.

"Good Morning, Sunshine," said Xavier in an abnormally cheerful voice. Normally Xavier wasn't a morning person, but he had been so excited that Rachel had actually agreed to let him be her ride that he was practically bouncing out of bed in the morning. In response Rachel mumbled something that sounded like "good morning" but he wasn't entirely sure. She was too busy mulling over a steaming mug that he quickly figured out was tea.

"What are you drinking?" he asked. But despite Xavier's efforts throughout the ten minute ride, he didn't make it very far with the conversation. But that didn't deter Xavier because he knew that he had the whole car ride home from school too.

- Page break -

Sixth bell Rachel had Honors English, and it was probably the only class she could afford to skip. While she studied diligently and poured all of her effort into her classes like AP Physics, English was something that just came naturally to Rachel. She didn't know if it was due to her love of literature or her uncanny ability to create nearly flawless arguments, but her English teachers tended to love her, so when it took her 20 minutes to go get a drink she knew they wouldn't care. Before the last two weeks, though, Rachel never skipped class. She had no desire to. Rachel loved her English class especially, but she needed to get away and it was better that she did it in a class where she didn't actually need to be present to do well on the next test or paper.

Rachel was escaping class like she wished she could escape she problems. Everywhere she went Rachel saw flashes of memories of her and Dick throughout the entire school. She just wanted to get away. So Rachel went to one place where she didn't have any memories at all. A place she spent so little time in during her years at Jump High School that there was no way she could be reminded of Dick, or anyone else, there. Rachel headed to the gym.

Rachel knew that the 6th bell gym class would be outside playing football because she had seen them through one of the hallway windows, so she thought that she would have the wide-open space to herself where she could just take a break from school, friends, reality. But that's not what she found. Instead, Rachel's problems practically came up and hit her in the face when she came face to face with Dick. Shock was apparent on his face and it took Rachel a moment to realize that he was staring at the swollen bruises where her father had hit her by her eyes, just like everyone else had been staring at her all day.

"Oh my god, Rae, what happened to you?" he asked, rushing toward her full of concern. He reached out to touch, comfort, his best friend, but she just batted his hand away. Rachel couldn't deal with him right now. If she didn't look like this, he would have walked right by her. And for some reason, the fact that he was genuinely acting like he cared pissed her off so much that she wanted to scream because her gut was telling her that it was all a lie, a front. He didn't care about her.

Once Rachel batted his hand away Dick stopped. He could see the pain in her face and it was obvious that it wasn't from her wounds. "What's wrong, Rae?" he asked. But she didn't answer. Rachel didn't know how to respond. Her mind was fighting between running to run into his arms and believe that everything was going to be okay and wanting to slap him and call him out on everything that Xavier had told her. But she didn't do either. Rachel knew the best thing for her was to get away From Dick as soon as possible. But her resolve didn't last long. She wanted to hurt him like he hurt her.

"You would know what happened if you had picked up your phone Saturday night, Dick," she said with a cool air of confidence. She didn't know where it had come from, and apparently Dick didn't either because he looked surprised as she spat his name. But she didn't stop. "It turns out while you were fucking your new whore, I was being sentenced to a night with my dad," she told him, the ghost of a smile on her face. "And I guess everyone in the school can see how that night went," she continued, pointing to the bruises and cut on her face. And while Rachel was obviously feeding off of getting some of her aggression out, Dick looked absolutely horrified, and she was loving it. "And you would have know it all," she said, "If you had just _answered your phone_."

Robin stuttered. "Rae, I'm so sorry. I never meant-" but he never got to finish.

"Oh I'm sure you never meant for my father to beat me up and for me to be stranded in the middle of the night alone, Dick" she said sympathetically, "but shit happens. And now I'm heading back to class because I guess I kinda feel like you did Saturday night when you ignored my phone call. I just don't want to talk to you right now." And with that, Rachel turned on her heels feeling more triumphant than she ever had in her entire life. The last minute was more out of character for Rachel than anything she had ever done. She guessed that it was safe to say that she had a little bit of a demonic side.

**- Page break -**

Rachel ignored Xavier as she brushed past him and swung her locker door open. The bell had only rung a minute ago, so Rachel had no idea how he had beaten her to her locker since her last bell class was just down the hall. However if didn't take long for Rachel to remember that Xavier was too cool for school and skipped class regularly, especially last bell. But Rachel was just happy that Xavier hadn't been roaming the halls when she had run into Dick seventh bell. After what Xavier had told her about Dick the day before, Rachel was just too conflicted and angry to deal with them both together.

The moment Xavier saw Rachel he could tell that something was wrong but he didn't know her well enough to be able to tell what it was just by looking at her. Yet. Xavier was determined to make the quiet beauty open up to him, but he wasn't sure why. He couldn't explain the way he felt drawn to her or why he had tried to pursue her numerous times over the past few years knowing that he would run into Dick long before he got to Rachel. Xavier never put this much effort into one of his sexual interest, and that was how he knew that Rachel had never been just a sexual interest to him. However if he got something sexual out of the situation that would definitely be a bonus.

"So what's got your panties in a twist, Sunshine?" asked Xavier. He smiled down at Rachel as she hastily shoved random books into her oversized backpack. _Who does that much homework_? Wondered Xavier as he stared in disbelief as book after book disappeared into the black hole like clowns in one of those weird little circus cars. But judging by the way Rachel was just throwing objects into the large bag Xavier was beginning to wonder if it was more of an anger relief exercise than anything else.

"Okay no one has this much homework. You're done," said Xavier as he pushed Rachel's locker door closed. Rachel began to protest but knew that Xavier was right, so she settled for a death glare instead. Xavier took the glare as a victory and smirked down at the petite girl before leaning over and picking up her backpack with a dancer's grace as if the oversized bag wasn't heavy at all. Immediately Rachel flashed back to the previous Monday when Dick had been joking about her backpack and carried it for her as well. A thought suddenly hit her like a brick. What if she felt so safe yet so disconcerted when she was with Xavier _because he reminded her of Dick_. Rachel flashed back and could easily pick up the similarities: overwhelming confidence, especially concerning girls, the natural athleticism, the hero complex. Rachel hurried to push the thoughts away. Dick lied to her and left her. She didn't want Xavier to be anything like him.

"Thanks," she mumbled to Xavier without looking at him. Rachel's response caught Xavier off guard. He had expected a fight; for Rachel to tell him to give her backpack back immediately because she was capable of carrying it herself and she didn't want him touching her stuff. But it never came. Xavier knew that she was capable. He had done it to get a rise out of her and get under her skin. He thought it was fun. Plus, Rachel's face always flushed when she got angry, and he had to admit that he thought it was kind of cute.

Xavier frowned as Rachel turned on her heels and began following the mass of other students toward the front entrance of the school. With a few long strides Xavier caught up to Rachel and she didn't look to happy about it. It was obvious that she was trying to ignore him. Rachel shot him a glare but didn't say anything, and Xavier spent the next few minutes wondering what had gotten the girl into such a terrible mood that she didn't even want to argue with him. Just as Xavier realized what had to have happened, the _only_ thing that could have put her into such a mood, Dick stepped into their path.

Oh God, why couldn't he just leave her alone? After being so heart broken on Saturday, Rachel never would have imagined that she would want Dick to leave her alone. Actually she had wanted him with her more than ever before. But now it was different. Xavier's words from the morning before still resonated in Rachel's head, and she knew that Dick hadn't had an epiphany and immediately felt guilty about deserting his best friend for a common whore. That's not what this was about. Dick was only reacting to the situation because she was with Xavier. Dick wasn't standing in front of her ready to pick a fight because he cared about her, it was all about this stupid rivalry he had with Xavier. And that made it hurt so much more. The realization of how little Dick really cared about her made Rachel's stomach clench and her eyes tear, but no one seemed to notice. The two boys were too busy staring each other down.

"What do you want, Dick?" asked Rachel. Rachel noticed that Xavier didn't say anything, but he stood protectively by her side ready to step in at any moment. Xavier didn't want to look like the aggressor. If something was going to go down, he wanted to make it clear to Rachel that he wasn't the one who started it, Dick was. He wanted her to see that he was the good guy and Dick was the asshole, like he hadn't been able to make her see for years. So Xavier waited. He wasn't going to intervene unless he was addressed directly or unless Dick went after Rachel. And he didn't have to wait long.

"We didn't finish our conversation," said Dick sternly. Rachel suppressed a bitter laugh. She didn't have the patience for this shit.

"I disagree,' said Rachel in a matter-of-fact tone. "I think we're definitely finished because I don't have anything else to say to you right now, Dick." And with that Rachel moved to pass Dick, but Dick reached out and grabbed her arm. Rachel winced as Dick's hand closed roughly around her sprained wrist and she glared back at him in shock. And Xavier lost it.

Without thinking Xavier let Rachel's back pack slide off of his shoulder as he moved toward Rachel and Dick. Within moments Xavier's hands collided with Dick's chest shoving him backwards and breaking his hold on Rachel. Dick had totally forgotten that Xavier was even there and was caught off guard. He didn't even see Rachel instinctively cradle her injured wrist against her chest.

"Don't touch her," warned Xavier. But he didn't continue to go after Dick after he pushed him. Xavier was totally on the defensive, even though he desperately wanted to punch Dick so hard that he head spun around his neck.

"Why don't you just stay the fuck out of this Johnson, okay?" spat Dick. Xavier just stood his ground between Rachel and Dick.

"No," he said. Xavier wasn't going to let Dick hurt Rachel any more if he could do anything about it. Xavier knew that Rachel was strong and capable and so one, but he wanted to protect her. She deserved to be protected.

Soon half of the student body of Jump high School had gathered around the arguing trio anxiously waiting for the confrontation to turn into a full on fight. Dick Grayson and Xavier Johnson finally breaking into a fight? Kids had been waiting for this for years.

"I don't need you telling me who I can and can't be around, Dick" said Rachel venomously as she re-entered the argument. Dick's head snapped in Xavier's direction with the words "You told her!" written all over his face. But before the fight could escalate, Dick's soccer coach plowed through the crowd of students to save his star player from a suspension for fighting.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Grayson? We have the playoffs coming up, and the last thing I need is your ass on the bench. Now get down to practice!" Yelled the coach. Dick's eyes flashed between Rachel and Xavier and his Coach. "Now!" called his coach. Dick caved and began moving toward his coach. Xavier placed a protective hand on Rachel's shoulder because everyone could tell by the look on Dick's face that the fight wasn't over. Rachel wanted to bury her face in her hands and cry, but instead she just shrugged Xavier's hand off of her shoulder and began walking toward his car without looking back.

**I think I'm going to bring back cocky Xavier in the next chapter, and I'm promising more XavierxRachel action. Hopefully I can keep up the motivation to write another chapter, though, because I really struggled through this one. IDEAS FOR WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAPPEN/WHAT YOU THINK WOULD BE GOOD FOR THE STPRY WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED! I knew from the begining what I wanted to happen in this chapter but I don't really have an idea for where to go after this. REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW- It's what keeps me motivated and makes me happy(: Hope this didn't dissapoint and I hope I didn't lose some of the fans of this story due to the incredibly long wait!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay so this chapter is REALLY short, especialy for me, and I'm sorry about that, but I figured that a short chapter was better than no chapter at all. I got to the end and realized that I could end that chapter there and since I was tired but wanted to post tonight I decided that I would. I'm actually going to try to keep this going and finish the story, so I will post another chapter soon! **

Slowly Rachel cracked her eyes open and stared directly out of her bedroom window into the darkness. _Darkness?_ Thought Rachel in surprise. She quickly sat up and in bed and glanced around her room. Once she saw the full mug of tea sitting on her nightstand the whole afternoon came back to her: the fight with Dick, the confrontation with Dick _and_ Xavier, and the awkward car ride home. Rachel had immediately made her tea and retreated to the solace of her room to lose herself in a novel and forget her seemingly never ending urge to cry. Instead she had fallen asleep in moments. Rachel didn't take naps. She never did this. But she was just so emotionally exhausted and she felt like she just couldn't deal with it. She sighed and rubbed her eyes in an attempt to rub away the sleep. Then she set her head toward the door in silent determination. She would move on with a normal school evening routine. She wouldn't let these boys ruin everything.

It hadn't taken Rachel long to return to her room. She had spent a few moments in the kitchen, but her appetite was shot, so she decided to go do her homework instead. The past two weeks had been detrimental to Rachel's schoolwork. She had been distracted in class, if she was even there at all, and the stress of impending tests and papers that she didn't understand was beginning to outweigh the stress of her explosive social life. Rachel had been putting in more time at home to understand the material that she was missing in class, and that was taking away from the time she spent to relax with a good book. It seemed like she never got the chance to do that anymore.

And again Rachel's moment of determined peace were interrupted. She heard a car door slam and sat up curiously to glance at the clock the illuminated her table. Her mother shouldn't be home yet. Rachel crawled across her bed and looked out of the window and she swore that the sight made her heart stop beating. She shut her eyes tightly and reopened them to see if the image would change, but it didn't. There was Dick's car in her driveway. And there was Dick walking to her door.

At first Rachel had every intention of hiding in her room until he went away. She wanted him to see how it felt to be ignored. But as she stared out of the window something about the look on his face changed her mind. She saw guilt and remorse and it looked _genuine_. With a sigh she walked downstairs to answer the door desperately hoping that it would go well. Before she pulled the door open, Rachel felt a tug of fear in her chest. What if it didn't go well? The way Dick had grabbed her arm earlier in the afternoon sent a shockwave of fear through Rachel's entire being. Maybe he was capable of things she didn't know of.

But she would just have to find out. Rachel swung the door open and stood in the entrance with her arms crossed protectively over her chest. She would not be the first one to say something. After all, he had come to her house, so he had to have something to say. A moment of awkward silence passed as Dick looked nervously around. He had expected Rachel to be more excited to see him.

"Look Rae, I really wanted to stop by so I could talk to you about today. I want to apologize. I don't know what got in to me, and I know that everything I did was not okay," said Dick. Rachel paused before responding. She didn't know how to act around him anymore. A few days ago she would have run into his arms to give him a hug and she would have forgiven him immediately just so she could put the awful situation behind them. But not today, not anymore. What happened at school changed things. And Rachel found that she only wanted to say one thing.

"Why?" she asked. It was obvious that the question caught Dick by surprise, and it kind of surprised Rachel as well.

"What?" was all he could manage to say. Rachel paused for another moment to truly think about what she meant. Eventually she restated her question.

"Why have you been behaving this way?" Dick didn't seem to think this was an appropriate question because he sounded frustrated when he responded saying,

"You know how that guy gets under my skin, Rae. We just don't get along. I just freaked when I realized that you had been hanging out with him because I felt so betrayed by you." Rachel didn't respond well to being accused of being the source of the problem. She had not betrayed him. He had betrayed her. She felt her temper flare, but controlled it because she wanted something more than to yell at Dick and tell him how wrong he was. She wanted an answer to her real question. He had only explained his actions for the past day, and all Rachel really wanted to know what he had been thinking for the past two weeks.

'That's not what I meant," she told him strictly.

"What?" Dick asked again seeming genuinely frustrated by the situation. Rachel knew that he was really just angry because she hadn't caved in to him immediately.

"I know why you acted like an ass today. I want to know what the hell has been wrong with you for the past two weeks." A flash of harsh anger crossed Dick's face.

"That's not what I came here to talk about, Rae. I wanted to set everything right because of what happened today." He told her. Rachel was not content with his response.

"God Dick I don't care about today! I just want to know what the hell happened to you the past two weeks because you just disappeared without warning or reason and if I'm going to lose my best friend I would at least like to know why!" Said Rachel now equally frustrated. Now Dick didn't seem to show any emotion, and Rachel found that to be the most disturbing part of the conversation.

"You're not losing me, I've just been busy." He told her in a matter-of-fact tone. Rachel let out a bitter laugh.

"That's crap, Dick, and you know. Just talk to me," She pleaded. Dick just shook his head. And Rachel wanted to reach out and smack some sense into him. But he didn't say anything. Minutes passed and Rachel just stared at him in disbelief. Why wouldn't he _say something_? "Dick!" she screamed to get his attention.

"I've been busy." That was all he said. Rachel couldn't prevent the look of disbelief from crossing her face. Was he really just going to sit there and pretend that he hadn't been ignoring her and breaking her heart for the past two weeks.

"I want an explanation. A real one," she finally chocked out. Again Dick just stood there like an emotionless statue. He didn't look like he was going to make up a lie or that the conversation was causing him any stress whereas Rachel felt like she was in agony.

"There isn't anything else to explain. I have to go, I'll see you later," said Dick as he turned and walked away. Rachel just stared. She didn't understand what had just happened.

It felt like she stood in the doorway for hours gaping out into the night, but it was probably only a few minutes. Eventually she closed the door and retreated back into her house. Rachel was furious and broken and confused and a hundred other things all at once, but what was really bothering Rachel was that Dick didn't seem to be anything at all. He didn't appear to feel anything. Once she got past his facade of guilt and sadness it was like yelling at and pleading with a mannequin. Rachel just wanted answers, an explanation for Dick's weird behavior. But he just shut down in a way that Rachel had never seen Dick behave before. She never thought that he could have been capable of such cold silence. And he turned on her _so quickly_...

Rachel wanted to get a response out of Dick. A sign of life. Rachel's heart was pounding as she raced around her house in a desperate attempt to release the stress and anger that was filling her chest making her feel as if she was going to explode. Rachel didn't handle extreme emotions well, which is why she kept most people in her life at a distance. If Rachel couldn't handle her emotions, she tended to act out in uncharacteristic ways, and she was very scared of that. Rachel needed to get out of the house. She grabbed her mother's car keys and headed for the door. She knew exactly where she was going.

It was almost like Rachel wasn't the one driving. Like a dream where you're watching yourself do things instead of being an active participant in your own life. Rachel hadn't paused to think of the inevitable consequences of what she was planning to do, but that was the point. Rachel was going to get a response out of Dick one way or another and it didn't take her long to realize that there was one thing, actually one person, who could make Dick angrier than anyone else.

After a few moments of aimless driving, Rachel immediately recognized the dark, sleek house. The modern lines stuck out among a neighborhood of old, architectural houses. Rachel cocked her head to the side as she gazed out of the driver's side window at the building before her. With a sudden realization Rachel thought of how much the house fit his personality.

Before Rachel knew it she was standing at the door pressing the silver button. Her heart raced inside her chest because Rachel knew that she had never done anything like this before and it was totally out of character. But Rachel knew she had been doing a lot of things lately that she never would have done before, and she wondered if the stress of the past two weeks was really beginning to take a toll. But before Rachel could continue on her train of thought that may have eventually led her to lose her nerve and walk away, the door swung open revealing a tall boy with broad shoulders, rich brow hair, and a very tired expression. Xavier. However his expression changed from tired annoyance to beyond smug when he looked down at the girl standing on his doorstep.

"Well hey there, Sunshine. I was about to unleash my wrath on anyone who dared wake me up, but since it's you I think I'll make an exception," he told her, grinning. Rachel had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. "So what are you doing here? Couldn't stay away from me could-" but Rachel didn't let him finish. She pushed her way in, planting a slim hand on Xavier shoulder before forcefully smashing her lips against his. Xavier stumbled a bit before reaching out and grabbing the doorframe for support. It was obvious that he was caught off guard. Hell Rachel couldn't believe it herself. But after a moment Xavier caved and decided not to question the whole situation. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into the house so he could close the door behind them.

**I thought I'd try a little clifhanger. Anyway, for those who reviewed I really appreciate it! And for those who tried to give me an idea on where this should go I appreciate that too. I decided that Rachel isn't even going to get an explaination from Dick, even though a lot of people asked for it, but I have a reason. Rachel and Dick's relationship/separation is very much based off of one of my own experiences and I never got an explaination so it feels weird for me to try to invent one. Plus, I think its part of the agony for the characters and for the readers. But I still don't know where I'm really going to go with this in the long run. Like how am I going to end it? What significant events can I use to get closer to an ending? I'm not really sure and I'd appreciate help or thoughts on that. PLEASE REVIEW! And again, I'm sorry this is ridiculously short (I'm kind of embarassed lol).**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey there! So I know it's been over a year since I updated, and I am very sorry about that! When I was younger and I read a lot more stories, I never understood how someone could just stop writing a story and then suddenly update a year later. I'm not sayingit makes sense, but at least I get it now. I hope my readers are still out there! Don't worry, I'm actually going to try to finish this, and soon. I've already started on the next chapter, so it won't be anoter year before I update, I promise. It was always ,y biggest pet peeve when authors stopped mid-story, so I refuse to do it myself. I just need a little more motivation then I've had the last year lol. But the reviews have been super helpful in reminding me that I need to work on this and stop being a bum, so please review again! I hope you like it :)**

Xavier managed to get the front door closed without ever breaking his and Rachel's embrace. Once he finally shut the door, Xavier pushed Rahel's back up against it as he continued to passionately move his lips against hers.

Xavier had no idea what brought Rachel to his house or caused her to change her mind because earlier in the day it seemed like she would never want anything to do with him gain, and that broke Xavier's heart. All Xavier had done was try to stand up for Rachel and protect her. He knew that she deserved so much better than that jackass Dick Greyson, and it was hard enough for Xavier to sit back and watch Dick break Rachel's heart, but the moment he grabbed her like that... Xavier couldn't even think about it without his blood beginning to boil. All of the bad blood between him and Dick had always been over petty alpha dog rivalries, but this was different. Now Xavier had a real reason to hate Dick. Xavier hated him for pushing him away from Rachel for years, and most importantly for hurting Rachel so badly. Xavier could get over everything else between him and Dick, but he would never let anyone hurt someone he cared about, especially not Rachel.

Xavier had admired Rachel from afar for years. He admired how intelligent she was and how it was obvious that she possessed a true love for academia and knowledge. He admired her style and presence because she stood out and refused to cave in to mass culture and media and behave and dress in the ways of her peers, yet it never seemed like she was being counter culture for the sake of being counter culture. Instead, Xavier knew that she was just being true to herself, and she didn't care what anyone else thought. Is there anything more admirable than that? It baffled Xavier every day that Rachel never seemed to understand her true beauty. It had occurred to him that maybe she didn't think she was as pretty as her contemporaries because she didn't get the same kind of attention from boys at school as girls like Dick's new slut Stacy Carr, but didn't she understand that it was just because boys were intimidated by her? Even popular, athletic, mystifying boys like Xavier Johnson.

And now Xavier had Rachel Roth, the girl of his dreams, wrapped tightly in his arms with his delicate fingers roughly running through his hair, and he didn't want to stop to question what she saw in him or anything else, because he never wanted to stop. Xavier leaned in to Rachel's body pushing his bare torso against the warmth of Rachel's sweater. She hadn't changed out of her clothes from school, so Rachel was still clad in the same lavender sweater, black body con skirt, lace patterned tights, and black boots. Her fitted spandex skirt had shifted upward in all of the commotion, so Xavier could run his hand along Rachel's thigh with just the thin tights separating him from her soft skin. His hand stopped just a few inches below Rachel's waist, but the motion brought a soft gasp out of the small girl's mouth.

Xavier had to remind himself to slow down. With girls throwing themselves at him left and right for years as Jump High's mysterious bad boy, Xavier was no stranger to heated situations, but this was different for him. It was a whole new world to be holding a girl he cared about so much. Hearing Rachel gasp at his touch made his heart beat faster than it ever had in any swim meet, and butterflies flew around in his chest. He wanted to be gentle with her just as badly as he wanted to pick her up and throw her on his bed, but Xavier knew better. He had never seen Rachel around school with a serious boyfriend, or really any other boys at all besides the ones in her close friend group- Dick, Garfield, and Victor. Xavier wouldn't be surprised if that was because Dick pushed every boy away so he could keep Rachel as an ego boost- someone who loved him unconditionally, though platonically, and would do anything for him. Another boy in the picture would take Rachel away as his constant backup amusement between girlfriends. And Xavier knew that Dick couldn't have that.

While Xavier was in bliss, Rachel's mind reeled in a slew of different emotions. The one that overwhelmed the rest, though, surprised Rachel. It felt like there were so many butterflies in Rachel's stomach she thought she was going to be sick, but she loved it. Every time Xavier moved or touched her it sent goosebumps along her skin. Rachel was loving this, and rationally she wanted to say it was because she had never really experienced anything like it and it was new and exciting, but her heart said otherwise. Somewhere deep down, Rachel was beginning to think that she loved this because it was Xavier she was kissing. It was Xavier who was running his hands along her sides and pushing his body against hers and _that's _why she loved it. If it had been anyone else, it would be a totally different story. And that scared her almost more than anything else. Rachel didn't usually have feeling like this, and she didn't really know what to do with them.

When Xavier ran his hands along her thigh and stopped very short of her already very short hemline a shot of fear jolted through her body. Maybe she had gotten herself in a bit overhead. Like Dick, Xavier had a reputation of being a bit of a playboy, and Rachel began to fear that that could go a little further than she had intended and she didn't know how to handle it if it did. But even though the small gasp that Xavier got out of Rachel obviously pleased him because Rachel could feel a hint of a smile in his kiss, he stopped. Rachel calmed down for a second, and Xavier removed his hand from her leg and placed it back on her waist. He was determined to show her that he could take it slow and respect her, and though Rachel was wary she understood and let out a sigh of relief.

Rachel didn't know how long it went on for, but she began to feel anxious to leave. Even though she was enjoying the situation way more than she thought she would, and all thoughts of Dick had totally fled her mind the moment she placed her lips of Xavier's, Rachel felt guilty. She was scared they would stop, and Xavier would want to know what brought her to his house, and she couldn't bare to tell him than she originally came in the hopes of using Xavier to make Dick upset. She was trying to _use _him. In the end it led Rachel to realize that she might have more feelings for the mysterious boy than she had originally thought, but that confused her and scared her, and if it really was true then Rachel didn't want to hurt Xavier by letting him know that she only came because of Dick, even though she was staying for him.

Slowly, Rachel began to pull away from Xavier, and reluctantly he allowed her to tilt her head away and look up into his face. She instantly wished she hadn't. Xavier looked slightly hurt that she had pulled away from him and ended their kiss, but Rachel also saw understanding there. Xavier knew it couldn't go on forever, especially not with Rachel. But when Rachel stared into Xavier's eyes the love she saw there scared her. The way her looked at her carried more love than anything she had ever seen, and suddenly Rachel feared hurting Xavier more than she ever thought he would hurt her. She quickly glanced away.

"What's wrong, Angel?" He asked in a soft tone void of his usual arrogance. Rachel paused for a moment before responding.

"Nothing is wrong. I just...I think I should go," she told him. Xavier's face fell. He didn't want her to leave. She couldn't just come in without a word and kiss him like that and leave without an explanation.

"I don't want you to go," he whispered as he brushed a few loose hairs out of Rachel's face. Rachel choose to stare straight ahead into Xavier's chest rather than tilt her head up to look at his face. She didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry," she told him, finally looking up into his large green eyes. Xavier pursed his lips together and nodded. He wasn't going to get his answers tonight, but he would tomorrow. Today had been a rollercoaster of emotions, and he had no idea what to expect from her in the morning, but he would get answers. He was still her ride to school, and she was not getting out of his car until they talked.

Carefully Xavier wrapped his arms around Rachel and gently pushed her head against his chest. He hugged her and kissed the top of her head desperately trying to hold on to the moment in fear that it would never happen again. He knew this was completely out of character for Rachel, and ever since she pulled away from him he could feel her slipping away more and more and all he wanted to do was hold on. Rachel let out a deep breath as she leaned in to his strong body and closed her eyes. She felt so confused inside, but knew above all that she really liked being in his arms.

Slowly Xavier released her and took a step back. Rachel gave him a small smile before reaching for the door handle. Before pulling the door open she glanced back at him again and said, "I'll see you tomorrow?" It came out sounding more like a question, but Rachel felt compelled to say something else. Plus, she wanted to check to see if she still had a ride to school. Xavier smirked a little bit.

"Of course, Angel," he told her. "I'll be waiting for you in the morning." Rachel just nodded and opened the door. "Goodnight." said Xavier softly. Rachel looked back as she prepared to exit his house.

"Goodnight," she said. And then she was gone into the darkness as she walked softly along the concrete path to her car. Xavier leaned against the open door frame, and the cold fall air brushed against his bare chest sending chills down his spine, but he did not move. He watched as Rachel got into her car and drove away. Reluctantly Xavier closed the door, his mind reeling at what had just occurred. Slowly he walked through the silent house to his room and collapsed into his bed. As he drifted off into sleep, Xavier realized that Rachel's scent still clung to him as lavender and vanilla filled his nostrils and he inhaled deeply. Before he finally went to sleep, Xavier was sure of one thing. After tonight, if Rachel wasn't going to be with him in his arms every day, he didn't want to wake up.

**- Page Break -**

Bright and early at 7:30 am Xavier was sitting outside of Rachel's housing in his sleek black car. He had the radio on as Flo Rida's "Wild Ones" played in the background and Xavier tilted his head back and rested it against his head rest with his eyes closed. His heart was racing a mile a minute. Ever since he woke up this morning all he had been able to think about was the night before with Rachel. He was so excited, but confused, too, and scared to get his hopes up. He just wanted to see her again so badly. However, Rachel had a very different morning.

Once Rachel had gotten home the night before she collapsed in her bed and forced herself to go to sleep so she wouldn't stay up all night thinking about what had just happened, but it was almost impossible for her to sleep when all she could think about was his lips firmly pressed against hers and the powerful feelings in his eyes when he looked at her. Rachel sat on her bed with her head in one hand and a to-go mug of tea in the other. She didn't know how to handle this. When normal pre-teen and teenage girls were learning how to handle boys, Rachel was trying to learn Kant, Aristotle, and Nietzcshe.

Rachel sighed and looked out her window, knowing exactly what she would see. Xavier was parked right outside her house waiting for her. Rachel knew she didn't have another choice, so she rose from her bed, grabbed her backpack, and made her way out of the house. Rachel locked the door behind her and turned towards Xavier's car, careful to not actually look at Xavier's face. Xavier looked Rachel up and down as she approached his car and he took in her over the knee faux-leather boots over her dark wash jeans and her black zip-up fleece. He always admired her effortless style.

Xavier heart skipped a beat as Rachel opened the door, and he couldn't keep a genuine smile from creeping across his face.

"Hey there, Gorgeous," he said in his "I'm way too happy for it to be seven in the morning" voice. Rachel forced a small smile as she climbed in to the car and let out a soft hi in return. Rachel glanced at Xavier, but avoided making any real eye contact. Once she was settled in his car and finished attaching her seat belt, Rachel stared straight ahead. When Xavier didn't pull away immediately, Rachel was about to ask what was going on when she suddenly felt him lean towards her and gently kiss her cheek. Rachel's whole body tensed up, because she had not been expecting that at all. Xavier didn't like that his action made her so tense, but she didn't tell him not to kiss her, so he smiled and pulled off towards school.

Once they were on the road, Xavier decided it was time to get some answers.

"So, are we going to talk about last night?" He asked. rachel definitely hadn't been expecting that, and if she had a sip of tea in her mouth she was pretty sure it would have come spitting out like a cartoon.

"What?" she asked, more in shock than for clarification. Normally Xavier smirked at everything she said, but his expression remained serious.

"Why did you come to my house last night?" He asked. "Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy you did. Really, really happy. I just want to know how you feel." Rachel sat in stunned silence. She didn't even know how she felt, and she definitely didn't want to tell him what was going on in her head.

"I don't know," She told him nervously. "It was really out of character for me. I don't know why I did it." Xavier did not accept that.

"I know it was really out of character for you," he told her in a matter-of-fact tone. "That's why there had to be a pretty good reason for you to do it." Rachel was the one who came to _his _house. _She _kissed _him_. He deserved answers. But Rachel didn't say anything for a minute or two. She didn't know what to tell him. Rachel believed very strongly in never lying, but she couldn't tell him the truth. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Rachel was happy she went to his house the night before. She was glad she kissed him. She wanted to kiss him again. But that scared her. it scared her so much that she would rather push him away than go in to something so new to her.

"I don't really want to talk about it," she told him. Rachel knew that they were about to pull into their school's parking lot, so she would be able to escape the conversation soon. She just had to stall him for a few moments. Little did she know, Xavier had no intention of letting her run away from him. He whipped his car into one of the very back spots of the lots and turned to face her.

"What are you doing?" asked Rachel. "Why are we parking all the way back here? There aren't even any cars for like 10 yards. We could easily park closer." It wasn't that Rachel was upset about walking an extra few feet, it was that she knew something was up. She was right.

"We're parking back here because we're not getting out of the car yet and I don't want people walking by and bothering us," he explained. Rachel just stared at him.

"What do you mean we're not getting out of the car?" She demanded. "I have to go to my locked to get my books for first bell, and we only have 5 minutes until the bell rings!" Anxiety was building up in Rachel's chest. usually she was at least 15 minutes early, but she had stalled so long in her room because she didn't want to see Xavier, so now they were about to be late. Rachel was never late.

"If you don't want to be late, talk to me. I just want to understand what's going on." Xavier told her. Rationally, Rachel knew he deserved to be asking these types of questions, but panic was taking over her brain because she was so worried about school. Desperate to get out of the car, Rachel huffed in frustration and said,

"Fine, what do you want to know?" Xavier already didn't like the tone of her voice.

"Why ddi you come to my house last night? Why did you kiss me?" He needed to know if she felt the same way about him as he did about her. He needed to know is she came to his house on a silly impulse and her bad attitude was because she regretted it, or if she loved the late night encounter just as much as he did. Rachel knew she shouldn't say what she did, but her nerves got the best of her.

"I came to your house because I was mad! Dick came to my house and we got into a fight because I've been hanging out with you, so when he left I went to your house." Rachel instantly regretted it. It looked like she had just crushed Xavier. His face stayed hard, but his eyes looked like he was screaming inside. She felt awful.

"So you just used me as a pawn in your little fight with Dick? To make him angry?" Asked Xavier furiously. He was breaking inside. He thought she really cared, too.

"I came because I thought it would make him mad, but Xavier that's not why I stayed I promise!" Rachel almost yelled, but Xavier didn't stick around to hear all of it. She was practically calling after him because after a few words he slammed his door open and quickly exited the car and slammed the door back in rachel's face. Rachel just sat there, stunned. What had she just done? She watched Xavier move swiftly through the parking lot and into the school without ever looking back in her direction. Slowly, rachel lifted herself out of the car, locked it, and slowly made her way to school as well. She knew she was a few minutes late. But after what she had just done, she didn't even care.

**I hope that was worth the wait and everyone enjoys reading this chapter! The next is already on the way, so please stay with me! This story will get finished :)**

**P.S. I do use Word, which has spell check, but I really didn't feel like re-reading this before putting it up because its 3 in the morning, so if there are some (or a lot) of errors, I'm sorry. I will go back and edit soon lol**


End file.
